thetrailfandomcom-20200215-history
The Church
Arthalis is a land of numerous spiritual beliefs and philosophies. The Church; The single dominant monotheistic religion across the continent, its influence stretches to all countries; almost no one is ignorant to the Church’s teachings, except for the few especially isolated settlements. The Church is based upon the philosophy and teachings set in the Gospel of Light. The Church was founded by Emperor Drakon, first ruler of the Victorianna Empire. It was three years later that the first White Divine, Divine Victoria I was declared. Emperor Drakon’s military success significantly expanded the borders of Victorianna, and the conquered lands were converted into the faith. It was the White Divine who convinced the Inquisition to join the Church, becoming their military branch; the Templars. Since then, the Church’s teachings have spread to all around Arthalis, with several cathedrals built in other city capitals. The followers of the Church are often referred to as Christians. Beliefs God is the entity worshipped by the Church.It is said that a long time ago, God created the Fade as His first world from His seat in the Golden City. His first children were the spirits of the Fade and God believed He had made them in His own image. Yet the Lord turned away from His first children, because while they could alter their world at will, they lacked a soul, and could only copy, not create or imagine for themselves. Dissatisfied with the result, He left the Fade behind, creating the world of Arthalis instead. The next realm that God created was one that his new creations would not be able to change at will. He separated it from the first by putting the Veil in between them, not realizing that His first children would be able to observe His new children and grow envious of their ability to envisage new things. The children that populated this new realm had the spark of the divine within them, which pleased God. While their world was more solid than that of the spirits, these creatures were able to imagine, and dream new things because of it. But then, the Sins of Man were committed. These creatures formed borders and committed acts of bloodshed and lust. Many turned away from God and turned their gaze instead to spirits that were able to whisper to them from the Fade. These spirits taught Man the power of magic, and gave many of them the essence of mana within them; this turned them into the first mages. God struck down these spirits and scarred them, turning them into reflections of their deeds; the first demons, and turned His gaze away from humanity and locked the Golden City and created the Black City; to where all who committed the sins of Man again would fall into. It is the Church that teaches that when the Gospel of Light is acknowledged and practiced in all four corners of the world, God will finally return and transform the world back to its original Edenic state. Until that day however, the Lord only watches those that follows the Gospel, and when they die they will return to God’s side; everyone else will be cast to carry the burden of their sins in the Black City. The view of the Church on non-humans is that they need saving—they have turned even further from God’s grace than humanity has. Elves were, and in some cases still are, pagan and dwarves do not worship any gods at all. The Church’s goal is to spread the Gospel of Light to all four corners of the world, that includes non-humans as well. Once all peoples have accepted the Gospel and practice its teachings, supposedly God will return to the world and return it to its previous Edenic state. Organization There are two main Arms of the Church; the Priesthood and the Knighthood; the Templar Order. The Priesthood is almost exclusively made up of woman, on the basis that men usually choose to serve in the Knighthood instead. Men can be brothers, serving as academics and initiates, but it is a junior position and non-ordained. Those who have received religious and martial instruction while being raised in the Church may become templars. Woman however, can move beyond Sister to Mother, Revered Mother, and Grand Cleric. The White Divine is at the head of the Church, and thus has sovereign control over both branches. Templars The Templar Order is the Knighthood of the Church. The order is the military branch charged with the responsibility of sanctioning magic and hunting apostates and maleficarum. While they are officially deemed a force of defenders by the Church, established to protect the communities of the faithful from magical threats, they are in fact an army unto themselves; well-equipped, highly disciplined and devoted to the destruction of non-believers in the name of God. Human males make up most of the Order, but it is in rare cases that a woman may choose to take up the Knighthood instead of the Priesthood, and in very special circumstances, elves who surpass martial and religious instruction. The Templars have a very rich history and position with the Church. As they see it, they protect the innocents of the outside world from magic; but they also protect mages from the outside world, a world that fears them for very good reasons. It is a templar’s place to watch their charges for signs of weakness or corruption, and should they find it to act without hesitation for the good of all. That this occasionally leads to charges of tyranny and abuse is, according to the Church, a price that must be paid for the security the templars offer. A Templar first joins the order as an Initiate, and upon passing their training and taking the Templar oath, they may become a Non-Ranked Templar within the Order. From there, a Templar may proceed to officer positions such as Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, or Commander. The Knight-Divine (sometimes referred to as The Divine Will) commands the Templar Order from the White Spire in Glasgow; the Mage Circle in southern Victorianna. The Knight-Divine’s second is the Knight-Vigilant, who will take the mantle of leading the Templar Order once the Knight-Divine has passed away or abdicated their position. By the common folk they are seen as self-sacrificing men and women, vigilant warriors that form the first line of defense between humanity and the chaos that once ruled the land during the time before the Church. To the mages they are often seen as oppressors, even well-meaning ones, and the gap between them is growing larger with each passing year. Templars also have access to the Rite of Annulment being the right to "pacify" or kill all mages in a Mage Circle. This would be used in the event that total chaos was unleashed by the mages and there is no chance that they could be saved. Most people don't remember the Templar Order as it once was. In the days when the Church was still young, templars were known as the "Inquisition" and combed the land in search of all dangers to humanity—whether they came in the form of blood mages, abominations, cultists or heretics. It was a dark and terrifying time in the history of Arthalis, and one that only ended when the Church convinced the Inquisition to unite under the banner of their common faith. The name of their order changed, and their purpose became that of guardian and warden rather than hunter. Category:A to Z